[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, good morning everybody. good to see you today and welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv.

we're coming to you live all the way across this great land of ours on this thursday morning february 7. bringing up to date on the big news of the day and giving. >> chance to talk about it. let us know your opinions at 1-866-55-press. our big town hall meeting of the day here. about to kick off. and breaking news, the white house has reversed course. it says that now will release the secret memos on what guidelines it uses in deciding to kill americans overseas and what kind of evidence they demand before they target americans. that, of course, comes only after getting a lot of pressure from members of congress and from the public. so, you see, all of those phone calls really do work. we'll tell you more about that and a whole lot of other stuff here on this morning's "full court press" but first, we get the latest, today's current news update from lisa ferguson out in los angeles. hi lisa. good morning. >> hey bill, good morning

everyone. the president is attending the national prayer breakfast this morning along with the first lady and vice president biden. then this afternoon he is headed to lancedown virginia to speak at the conference. biden is in massachusetts. cowan is filling in for john kerry who is secretary of state but it is only on a temporary basis. voters will be able to pick a new senator and a special replacement election on june 25th. yesterday, biden spoke to house democrats in virginia at the same conference the president will be attending today. and he asked them to keep fighting for gun control legislation despite the possible political ramifications. many lawmakers are staying away from the issue especially those up for contentious re-elections in 2014. but biden told members of the house yesterday that's simply unacceptable and that he can only imagine how they will be judged as congress, as a nation and as individuals in they do

nothing. a couple of early bills are starting their way through congress now including one that has bipartisan support from the house on making firearm trafficking a federal crime. in arkansas, the republican-controlled state senate there passed a bill making gun records private. shortly after the shooting in connecticut, a new york newspaper published the names and addresses of thousands of gun permit holders on its web site and this bill is in response to that action. more bill is up next. stay with us. right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table.

>> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: john brennan president obama's nominee to

head the c.i.a. faces the music today. going to be a rough and tumble hearing. what do you say? particularly about drones. what do you say? good morning everybody. it is thursday, february 7. good to see you and welcome -- welcome to the program this thursday morning. always great to see you. look particularly good this morning here as we kick off our three hour roundtable to bring you up to date on the latest news of the day and of course to take your calls at 1-866-55-press. that's our toll free number. we'll tell you what's happening here in our nation's capital. that's where you find us, by the way, right on capitol hill, down the street from the united states capitol building and what's happening here in washington, around the country around the globe bringing it to you and again give you a chance to comment. you can do so by giving us a call at the toll free number, 1-866-55-press or follow us on twitter at bpshow, at bpshow. give us your comments there on

facebook. on facebook.com/billpressshow. yes, indeed. team press here. present, ready to serve you. peter ogborn and dan henning. >> yes sir. >> good morning. >> bill: the only two allowed to talk with a microphone. we keep phil backert and cyprian bowlding off the microphone. >> either a good thing or a bad thing. >> bill: they would just talk football. phil backert has the phones and cyprian bowlding has the video cam. it is the fat war. chris christie. it started when he went on with david letterman the other night and he made a lot of jokes about you and i've made jokes about your weight. chris christie has a good sense of humor most of the time. he went along with it and actually said, remember, that my cholesterol is fine. my blood sugar level is fine. in fact, he said "i'm the healthiest fat manuel's ever

know." he got a laugh. well, the laughs stopped when former white house physician connie mariano was asked by cnn about chris christie and she said she's a republican. she was put in the white house by first president bush in the white house physician's office. she's a republican. she likes chris christie but she's worried about him. >> i worry that he may have a heart attack. he may have a stroke. it is almost like a time bomb waiting to happen unless he addresses those issues before he runs for office. >> bill: whoa! whoa! i think she's right. >> she is right. >> bill: but chris christie, he didn't like it. uh-huh. >> if she wants to get on a plane and come here to new jersey and ask me if she wants to examine me and review my medical history i'll have a conversation with her about that. until that time, she should shut up. >> boom! >> bill: he treats her just like the teachers in new jersey.

it is an interesting question. we'll talk about it more later. is his weight a legitimate issue? i think it is. he's too big. you saw him on letterman. he could not sit in the chair facing the camera. he had to sit sideways, right? and he just looks huge because he is. i'm worried about him. i'm not a republican. i like him. i would love to see him run for president. he's one of the most colorful -- wrong on a lot of policies but one of the most colorful -- i don't give a damn, i'll say what i think -- kind of politicians which i've always liked. i liked bob kerrey for that reason. at one time, i liked john mccain for that reason until he became a grouch. i like chris christie. he's young. he's not wrong about everything. but i'm worried about him. >> there is a big difference between being a little overweight, having a couple of spare pounds or extra pounds and

being as big as chris christie is. really and truly. he is not -- he doesn't look healthy. he's not healthy. speaking as a person who used to be as big as chris christie, every fat person i ever knew and met said oh, i'm overweight but i'm still pretty healthy. you're not. >> bill: connie mariano, it is not like she's a democrat attacking him. she's not -- it's not like he's corey booker, right saying we gotta get him out of there because he's going to die or something. she's a doctor. she's a republican. who's just saying you know what? you ought to pay attention to this. >> put it this way, when was the last time you saw a 70-year-old man who was as fat as chris christie? you don't. because they don't make it to be 70. >> bill: all right. just one of the issues we'll tackle this morning and lots to talk about. a lot you're going to want to talk about. we'll have the help of henry

congressman from texas talking about immigration. joe romm from the center of american progress on the latest disturbing news about climate change. and one of the representatives of the aclu in here to give us their serious concerns about the obama administration's policy on the use of drones to kill americans overseas. and here's where we start today the post office says no delivery on saturday. but first... >> this is the "full court press." >> a lot of stuff you need to know as you head out the door on this thursday. a new low for fox news. fewer people than ever before say they trust that network. politico reporting on a new public policy polling survey that finds that just 41% of americans trust fox news while 46% do not trust the network. three years ago 49% trusted it. 37% did not.

the poll found that more people trusted pbs than any other network with 52%. >> bill: 46% don't trust fox. >> let me just say as someone who monitors the media and respects what journalists do -- [ laughter ] that is great news! >> bill: the public is finally waking up to the fact that fox news is not fair and balanced! >> senator mitch mcconnell is a happy kentucky basketball fan. the hill reporting the senate minority leader was visited yesterday by university of kentucky basketball coach john calipari. he gave him a piece of the floor that kentucky made on in new orleans last april when they won the ncaa championship. he'll hang that in his office. coach is in washington for the national prayer breakfast this morning. >> bill: there it is. somehow i wasn't invited. maybe because i've been invited for the last 15 years and i've

never gone. i think it is an outrage that we have a national prayer breakfast. it violates everything we believe in about separation of church and state. for the president to go it is it is damn disgraceful. >> we talked about a replica oval office that the president was going to move into while the west wing is under construction. turns out that report from real clear politics and politico is not true. jay carney saying the report is false and no one is moving out of the west wing. however, he did not say what was being considered and referred any questions about possible construction to the general services administration. >> bill: classic jay carney. i refer you to -- he's always referring me to people. they'll never answer the question. he knows that. all right dan. thank you. yes, indeed. first wrote this back in 503 b.c. the post office has it inscribed on their building up in new york city. you've heard it before.

it is famous neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds and now we can add nor saturday mornings. because the big shocker yesterday announcement by the postmaster general patrick donahue, that the post office, having lost $15.9 billion last year, having to make up for loss of revenue has decided they're going to cut saturday delivery service for letters magazines or catalogs starting i think this august. and he pointed out yesterday here's why we have to make some cuts. >> we've lost in single piece volume bill volume, 30 million

piece. if you take that, you're talking northwards of $14 billion just that product alone. >> bill: billions of pieces because people are paying bills online, more and more people paying bills online. more and more people using e-mail. fewer and fewer people who actually write letters. i have to tell you, i grew up writing letters. i was away at college i wrote to my parents at least once a week. wrote to friends i remember writing to my aunts and uncles. i don't write letters anymore. i'll write little thank you notes. i do still use the mail a lot. but nowhere near as much as i used to. and we still pay some of our bills by mail. but maybe half of them online. >> i'm with you. we will go through the process of filling out -- >> bill: or automatic deduction, whatever that is. >> we were going through the process of filling out and mailing thank you cards for my

5-year-old's birthday party. and i was just thinking man when was the last time i did this? we had to go and find all of the stamps for everything. it is something we don't do anymore. >> that's the only thing i use the mail for is thank you cards. i'm planning a wedding. i will be mailing wedding invitations. >> bill: i get more and more invitations to events e-mail invitations. i very seldom now get a printed invitation. >> wedding is the only thing i get printed invitations for. >> bill: that's what the postmaster general is talking about. why should they choose to end saturday delivery? >> save $2 billion annually, that we have a $20 billion gap to close. >> bill: so they could save $2 billion this way and he says that their surveys show that the public understands and supports this. >> 70% of americans have consistently said that they would support five day schedule

for mail and delivery of packages given the financial condition of the postal service. >> bill: so, you know, i understand why they're doing it. we have to remember the post office is an independent agency. most people are surprised to learn there are no tax dollars. tax dollars do not go to support the post office. at the same time, times have changed as we just talked about. more and more people, fewer people using the post office as their number one means of communication. so they're just not sending as much mail. they're not buying as many stamps. no matter how high you raise the price of a full prize staff it won't -- full price stamp it won't balance out. the congress has refused to pass any postal reform so the post office is still stuck with this obligation, get this, they're obliged to put money into the bank every year for future pensions.

not pensions for the people who are already collecting a pension. but to put that money aside for people who work for the post office and will collect a pension in the future. $5.5 billion a year! they've been asking to get out from under that burden. no other government agency has that same requirement. but for some reason, the stupid congress put this burden on the post office. making it impossible for them, really to balance their books. even john boehner do nothing speaker john boehner admitted yesterday that part of the blame here goes to congress. >> but i understand where the postal commission is coming from. they're in charge with running the post office. but yet the congress, in its wisdom, has tied their hands every which way in order for them to actually run the post office in a revenue neutral way. so congress needs to act. there's no question about that. i hope that we'll act soon.

>> bill: yeah, well why don't you? you're the speaker of the house of representatives. why didn't you act and why don't you act now? given that aside i guess the question i'm going to ask you is it going to make any difference in your life? 1-866-55-press. i gotta tell you again, big fan of the post office. support them all the time. use them a lot. still for packages. yes, for letters paying bills for thank you notes and all of that. i can live with this. i'm sorry that some of the postal workers may not have that sixth day of work, a little bit of overtime or whatever but i can live without delivery on saturday. they're still going to deliver packages. so if you have something perishable coming, box of grapefruit, still going to get there or you know, cheese from cowgirl creamery, plug. the post offices are still going to be open on saturday. what's missing is that home

delivery. could you live with that? i can. 1-866-55-press. i mean, again, as much as we use the post office, as much mail as we get we get a lot of mail every day. i can live with that. i understand why they're doing it. it is just like some businesses don't open on sunday. you learn to live with that. i can't find my booze on sunday. >> a lot of restaurants are closed on monday. >> there you go. i think we can live with this. can you? 1-866-55-press. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the "bill press show." i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us. that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 25 minutes after the hour. the "full court press" here on a thursday. thursday february 7th. i think i said february 6th earlier. if i did my bad. we're talking about the post office announcing yesterday no more saturday delivery. i think some people won't even notice that there's not a saturday delivery. look, we gotta fix the post office. we have to let them run their own business the way any other business would. take the extra demands off the post office. but just like any business that they've got to cut one day and save some money that way i think it is a smart move. pete summer. >> we're on twitter at bpshow. shawn says as a letter carrier this, for me is a hard pill to swallow. people will lose their jobs as a result of this. amy says -- >> bill: by the way donahue said they're not going to fire

anybody. they'll just -- from attrition let the work force shrink but it will mean fewer letter carriers, for sure. >> amy says this is yet another attack on america's middle class. these jobs support neighborhoods. congress needs to fix the pension bill which is something you talked about and danny says i can live with the closure of the post office on saturday but not with the g.o.p. push to privatize mail service and close usps. >> bill: no. that would be totally dead wrong. by the way they're not closing the post offices on saturday. it is just saturday delivery of first class -- well, of anything other than packages. on saturday. james is calling from detroit. hey, james, what do you say? good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. thanks for taking my call. i'm a 26-year veteran of the postal service and i'm a driver. this basically won't affect me that much because the processing plant where we pick the mail and packages up always runs 7 days a

week, 24 hours a day. we'll still be taking packages express mail to the local postal stations. but my question is can president obama -- does he have the veto power to stop this or is it strictly up to congress? because the apw the american postal worker's union the mail handlers union we supported him 100% on both elections. can he stop this? >> bill: no. the quick answer is no, james. i'll tell you why. first of all, we're going to have a representative of the mail handlers, letter carriers in the studio tomorrow to talk more about this. because there are several postal unions, as you know, my union brother. but the post office is an independent agency. the president does not have the authority to, by executive order, to do anything. the question is can they act without congress? the postmaster general says yes they do have the legal authority to do this without congress being able to stop it.

some leaders in congress yesterday including senator susan collins said oh, no, no, no no, no. we, in the congress, must approve any change like this and she is opposed to it. that question may eventually have to be settled by the courts but clearly the president can't do it. maybe congress could stop it. more calls coming up. compelling true stories. >> jack, how old are you? marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current.

>> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress. this is the "bill press show" live on your radio and current

tv. >> bill: thursday, february 7th. the shocker yesterday. really came as a big surprise. they talked about it for a long time. they finally did it yesterday. the postal -- head of the post office saying that they are starting in august, going to stop saturday delivery for letters. they'll continue for packages and post offices will still be open, forced into it by losing so much money last year by the fact that congress has put impossible demands on the post office. what's it mean to you? will it make any difference? 1-866-55-press. back to your calls and comments in just a second. you heard me talk about identity theft before and how prevalent it is. and how it hits everywhere. here is a story today out of ohio. a man claiming to work for social security called this woman out in ohio and convinced her to provide her social security number and banking information. get a call like that, don't do it.

she did. and of course, he was able to open a new accounts and credit cards in her name. you have to be protected against something like that. i am. feel comfortable with the protection very safe with the protection of lifelock ultimate, the most comprehensive i.d. protection ever made. it can't protect you or your bank accounts if you're not a member. call now. my suggestion, call now and mention press 60 for 60 risk-free days of lifelock ultimate identity theft protection. if you're not happy call within another 60 days and cancel. see lifelock.com for details and then give them a call at 1-800-356-5967 for lifelock ultimate. so saturday delivery, will it make any big difference in your life? peter, what's the -- >> i don't know if you knew this. i didn't know this until this

morning. in the state of massachusetts they have eight dry counties where you can't sell alcohol and not only that, the entire state has banned happy hours in bars. if you're a bar or restaurant, you can't have a happy hour where you can offer discounted drinks discounted food. that's a law. >> bill: i was in massachusetts last week. how dare they not allow me to have a happy hour. >> the funny thing is -- >> bill: i didn't notice if. what's wrong with happy hour? i thought everybody had happy hours. >> apparently not. they just upheld the law. there was some discussion over whether or not they were going to get rid of it. they upheld the law. they can't have a happy hour in the state of massachusetts. some other states have done it. and sort of -- >> bill: i guess because they say it encourages people to drink and drive. >> that's the thing. there are some other states in kansas they have -- all different kind of laws that basically say you can't sell

discounted liquor. you can't give drinks away. you can't have all you can drink promotions. they're afraid by offering drinks for cheaper you will drink more and then you will go out and will you drive drunk. so they're trying to curb that. restaurants aren't happy about it. they want to have that lifted. but that is not the case. they upheld it in massachusetts. >> bill: no happy hours in massachusetts and no happy hours on saturday with letter delivery when you're waiting for that letter from your sweetheart to arrive on a saturday. you'll have to wait until monday. john is calling from few trumansburg, new york. >> caller: hey, bill, good morning. it sounds like a strange word when you hear it separately, happy hour. here's the deal. the reason for that -- the post office is making a $3 billion a year profit until that law -- >> bill: yeah. right. it is impossible to run a business the way congress has forced them to do. >> caller: you mentioned the word into the future, it is not just the future. it is 75 years into the future they have to fund pensions.

no business can operate under that situation. the purpose of that bill by the republican congress and the republican congress was to crush the largest employer of unions in the country the post office, and make it all privatized. >> bill: no doubt about it. that was their goal. that was their intent. this was their way of doing so. >> caller: you know when you send in manuscripts and what not, it is not just one. you send thousands because there's rewrites. i send -- i write and i send scripts and what not to los angeles from trumans bugg, new york. overnight for the post office is $18.75. i was just curious i went to fedex. how much does it cost to do this? he said from trumansburg to l.a., it is $60 plus tax. >> bill: no kidding! >> bill: i have to tell you again, i write. i run a little business as well as doing my talk show. whenever i have a document i have to get to new york or l.a. or wherever, i use the post

office. that overnight -- the express and the other one. i forget. one is overnight and one is in two days or something. >> priority mail. >> bill: right. it is a great service. it is worth every penny of it. i mean, i would put up the post office against u.p.s. or fedex any day in terms of service in terms of what they offer. they didn't always but they have caught up. they're more than competitive. i think they're better today. and they are working under this impossible burden that congress put on them. to have to fund pensions 75 years in the future? what business could operate that way. >> yeah, right. i might becism-minded about this -- i might be simple-minded about this. think about what the postal service does and think about how well we do it as a country compared to other nations. the way that we've put together this system where you can be in california and put a piece of paper in the mail and it shows

up in new york a few days later it is amazing. >> bill: look, the first thing did i this morning after i got up and took a shower and all of that, but before i walked into this studio, i mailed a letter this morning. right? i still think -- i've said this before on the air, it is an absolute miracle that for only 46 freakin' cents, you can put that value on a letter envelope and the next day it's going to be, for the most part, the next day, it is going to be all the way across the country. in somebody else's hands. it is unbelievable that we can do that. >> it really is. >> bill: congress is making it harder and harder. so i come back to -- i understand the post office. they can't lose. they can't bleed $16 billion a year. they have to cut. they can save $2 billion by my not getting a letter on saturday, i could live with it. patty is up in flint michigan. hi patty.

>> caller: hi, how are you bill? you're such a breath of fresh air. i drink my triple espresso, you guys are great. i agree with everything, all of the tweeters, tweets that peter was reading. and even though the saturday delivery won't really affect me that much, i do -- the first thing i want to say is we are losing social skills by not writing hand-written letters or typing letters. we still write letters. we have friends who are writers out in idaho and they write letters twice a month. we return letters. handwritten, folded snail mail. i tell you it is just -- it brings a smile to our face because most of the time, i'm guilty of it, i send you know, e-mail birthday cards and it is so impersonal. we're losing social skills. >> bill: you're right. i don't know that we'll ever get them back, patti.

>> caller: the young people, i'm trying -- my younger nieces and nephews and stuff i'm handwriting cards and thank you notes and just cards saying hi, how are you get them off their ipad and everything else. the other thing quickly i just found out last night that the post office, it is in the constitution. so the g.o.p. who is trying to kill with this. they're going against the constitution. >> bill: patti hold on, patti. don't go away. because i've got something special for you. we learned a long time ago the republicans don't really care about the constitution. we still have patti on hold. patti, i appreciate your call very much. and since you are such a good fan of the show, we want to send something special your way and that is a $50 gift certificate for sherr yes's berries. you've heard me talk about them.

most delicious strawberries you'll ever see. rest of you looking for a special gift for valentine's day, go to berries.com. click on the microphone in the upper right-hand corner and type in press and there is a great gift waiting for you there for anyone that you love and want to give a special gift to on valentine's day. on the postal service paula out in gary, indiana. have paula what do you say? good morning. >> caller: good morning to you. thanks for taking my call. as i was saying to the other guy, i watch the ed schultz show. just as i watch current every morning. >> bill: thank you. >> caller: he's been talking about this for over a year. that members of congress, g.o.p., have some special interests, i can't remember who it is and who owns it and the

like but like fedex u.p.s., all of those companies have -- want to privatize because it is more money for them. by doing this to the postal service for all of these years which needs to be stopped as you said, by bankrupting them, they can privatize it. >> bill: sure. you know those companies u.p.s. and fedex have all kinds of lobbyists here in washington d.c. they're working all the time to make things easier for them. and harder for the post office. fedex is nonunion. u.p. is union. but the -- u.p.s. is union. the post office provides a great service. if congress made u.p.s. and fedex follow the same -- live under the same obligations of financing pensions, 75 years into the future, both of those companies would go out of business. how can we expect the post

office to survive? it is outrageous. all right. when we come back, fox news has fired dick morris! is it time to celebrate? congratulate fox news? >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." arguments to feel confident in their positions. i want them to have the data and i want them to have the passion. but it's also about telling them, you're put on this planet for something more. i want this show to have an impact beyond just informing. an impact that gets people to take action themselves. as a human being, that's really important. this is not just a spectator sport.

i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. you got it. 12 minutes now before the top of the hour here. underway with the "full court press" this thursday, february 7. well network a lot of cleaning

house going on in the cable networks. including cleaning -- everybody at current tv cleaned house but not yet. meanwhile, cnn letting mary madeline and james carvel out to pasture as well as bill bennett. fox news releasing sarah palin and dick morris. what's going on? eric boehlert joining us on our news line as a senior fellow for media matters for america. good to talk to you again. >> hi, bill. good thanks. >> bill: let's start with dick morris. this latest poll showing that public trust actually in fox news has fallen now to where 46% of americans say they don't trust what they see on fox news. what's happening here, eric? >> it's interesting. i think the polling firm suggests part of that drop might be from republicans.

fox's own viewers -- >> bill: whoa. >> who feel they were duped last november. that ties into the dick morris firing or whatever you want to call it. you know. he's the one that famously announced that mitt romney was going to win in a landslide. the funny part is he wasn't alone. glenn beck, rush limbaugh, michael barone, lots of people during that final week of the campaign, lots of right wing media folks not only was romney going to win, he was going to win in a landslide even though there wasn't two polls out of 2,000 that suggested that was going to happen. so, you know, fox has problems. fox has its lowest ratings prime time ratings in 12 years. folks have just completely tuned out -- i mean it is still the number one cable channel but if you look at the demo ratings in particular msnbc, for instance,

you know, greta is about to lose to laurence o'donnell at the 10:00 hour. so it's interesting. four years ago right after obama was inaugurated, it was a ratings goldmine for fox news. they brought in glenn beck. they sort of bought and produced and marketed the tea party. the whole healthcare reform town hall hysteria. four years later early into the second term, that enthusiasm is gone. the viewers are increasingly indifferent to fox news and i think, you know, a portion of them felt duped. they were told for four years you know, the country was suffering buyer's remorse you know. obama was a historic monster anti-capitalist, socialist racist. they had to sit there on election night and watch him not

only win but win an electoral route. all of that is tied into dick morris' exit. he became a laughingstock not only in the mainstream but also within conservative circles and so he had a run -- something like 15, 18 years. >> bill: 15 years. >> it came to an end. >> bill: and was wrong about anything. he was wrong about scott brown. he said republicans will pick up ten seats. so last night he shows up, the day after the news comes in and shows up on piers morgan on cnn. here's his lame excuse for what happened eric. >> well, i had a wonderful talk with roger ailes who i really respect, a week ago. he said it is business. you're up, you're down. >> why are you down now? >> i was wrong. i was wrong at the top of my lungs. >> bill: so you're up and you're down. my question is why the hell would cnn put him on the air? >> i know.

it is sort of like you know, cnn is going to turn for dick morris for political insight? a lot of that interview was not just why did you get fired. it was gee give us your insights into politics in america. >> bill: what are they thinking? >> cnn you know, obviously going through changes of a new president. they've been having ted nugent on every other day over there. there is a little bit of trolling going on. they realize there is an automatic hit you can get if you get some of the right wing crazies on your show. they'll post the video. they'll talk about how much they hate you. it is very, very short term programming in my point of view. but you know here's the other important thing that media matters has documented for at least the last year. dick morris wasn't just wrong you know. he was basically corrupt. >> bill: good point. >> this was all a money-making scam for dick morris. it wasn't just that he auctioned off, you know, a tour of the fox news studio. >> bill: for $10,000.

>> it was he kept stuffing all the money into his pockets. he would be hired by these groups to speak at their dinners or do consulting or whatever then he would go on fox news and talk about how great these groups are. >> bill: and candidates. >> and cad dates were a-- and candidates were paying him. this whole e-mail scam that he ran. it was basically you know, a closed loop, you know. he would go on fox news and ask for money. they would give him money and the money would go into his pocket so he could go hunting and ask for more money. it was a mini pyramid scheme. >> bill: he was both wrong and corrupt. eric, you guys do great work at media matters. thanks for joining us this morning. roger ailes once accused david brock of media matters of declaring war on fox news. well, media matters won that war is all i gotta say. thanks, eric. talk to you again soon.

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(vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. (vo) she's joy behar. >>current will let me say

anything. >> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any time, this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: all right. senior counsel for the aclu, senior legal counsel chris anders coming up at the top of the next hour on drones. about the post office, sue out in michigan points out has anyone thought what would happen or what could happen if the wrong company ran the post office were it privatized.

how easy would it be to conveniently misplace absentee ballots, et cetera during the election. no no, no. privatization of the post office bad idea. can't let that happen. in the meantime, congress ought to act and let the post office off the hook with the extra pensions they have to put money aside for so they can run a business. and balance their books.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: good morning sports fans and welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv.

this thursday morning february 7, good to see you today. thanks so much for joining us. as we tackle the stories of the day and get ready to hear from you. take your calls at 1-866-55-press. that is our toll free number. oh boy, you can expect pigs to fly or cats to talk when fox news finally gets something right. yes, they fired dick morris. why? because he got everything wrong. he predicted a landslide win for mitt romney. predicted the landslide win for scott brown. predicted republicans would pick up ten seats in the united states senate. he was wrong about everything. so fox news fired dick morris. the big question is why do they still have karl rove on the payroll? into that and a whole lot more on the "full court press." first we get the latest, today's current news update, standing by in los angeles, here's lisa ferguson. hi lisa, good morning.

>> hey bill. good morning everyone. chuck hagel will have to wait a little while longer before take up his new position as secretary of defense. the senate armed services committee had hoped to hold a vote as soon as today but now that's being delayed. after last week's hearing republicans say they want more information on hagel's speeches and his financial disclosures. until then they are opposing the vote but the committee chair is still hoping to schedule one as soon as possible. in idaho, a republican state senator is introducing a bit of an obscure bill requiring every single high school student to read ayn rand's novel. when asked why he chose that particular book, senator john getty said it because it made his son become a republican. he said it gives high schools an alternative way to adopt graduation requirements. he does not plan on making a hard push for the bill or holding any hearings on that

proposal. back on the national front military services are outlining their plan for a serz of spending -- series of spending cuts kicking in march 1st. sequester calls for $1.2 trillion in cuts over the next decade. that means less aircraft maintenance, reduced raises for staff members and a delay in new equipment for soldiers unless congress and the white house reach a new deal in the next few weeks. more bill is coming up after the break. stay with us.

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>> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: john brennan facing the music today.

there will be a lot of questions about what exactly is our pom on drones. you're the architect of it after all. good morning everybody. here get on a thursday, february 7. great to see you today. thank you so much for joining us here on the "full court press." we're coming to you live across this great land of ours coast-to-coast on current tv, of course, and on your local progressive talk radio station. how lucky are you if you've got one. give them your full support and the people who sponsoring the shows on the local progressive talk radio stations. thanks for joining us. lots going on today. yes, the big confirmation hearing for john brennan. the white house announcing it is having second thoughts about releasing the secret memos on drones. and dick morris fired by fox news. all kinds of news this morning. we'll get into it. we'll take your calls at 1-866-55-press. that's how you can join the conversation. or -- that's one way. you can also follow us on twitter and comment on twitter at bpshow.

i must -- i was at a -- i was at a luncheon event yesterday and the hostess was saying that she knows a lot of people do this but she doesn't -- i'm not on tweet, she said. >> did you correct her bill? >> bill: i did not. even i knew that wasn't right. i knew what she was trying to say. you can also follow us on facebook of course at facebook.com/billpressshow. we're going to be talking drones and the obama administration's defense of the use of drones for killing americans overseas. no organization has been more outspoken about expressing concerns about the policies than the aclu. the senior legislative council for the aclu, chris anders joining us in studio this morning. hi chris thanks for coming in. >> hey. >> bill: peter ogborn, dan henning. phil backert has the phones. cyprian bowlding keeping us on

camera on the video cam. and yesterday president obama making -- naming a new member of his cabinet. the new interior secretary the ceo of rei from seattle sally jewel who has got a great reputation for not only being very active in the environmental conservation field and not only a good businesswoman but a very active hiker herself as president obama pointed out. >> obama: i'm willing to bet she'll be the first secretary of the interior who frequently hikes mailbox peak in her native washington state and who once spent a month climbing mountains in antarctica which is just not something i would think of doing. [ laughter ] >> bill: that's pretty impressive huh? >> yeah. that's a pretty good commercial for rei by the way. >> bill: you know what? i'll tell you, she was hiking those mountains. she was well outfitted. rei is a great store.

>> yeah, love it. >> bill: when you have sons, you spend a lot of time shopping at rei. i found out. and sally jewel said she was very complimentary about the job that ken salazar has done as interior secretary. in one respect she'll have a hard time following him. >> i'm going to do my best to fill the big boots of yourself but i think i might get lost in your hat. [ laughter ] >> bill: he does wear that great big hat. he had one on at the inauguration ceremony as well. so visiting here with chris anders of the aclu about drones. we'll get to the bottom of that. henry quay ar, congressman from texas talks immigration reform and victoria jones from talk radio news service will be here as a "friend of bill" in the next hour but first... >> our headlines making news, hollywood action star is speaking out against gun control. bruce willis star of the "die

hard" franchise now celebrating its 25th year anniversary fifth installment coming into theatres next week. he tells "the associated press" the new legislation they're talking about would likely infringe on second amendment rights and he feels changing one law would create a landslide for many more laws to be changed and rights to be affected. he also believes hollywood has no effect on gun violence saying no one commits a crime because they saw it on film. >> bill: how many times could he be wrong in one interview? okay so we're going to follow bruce willis and ted nugent now on guns. >> he's glorified gun violence as much as anybody. he would take a hit big time. gun violence in movies. >> protecting his own paycheck. >> people for the ethical treatment of animals not happy -- >> bill: you mean peta? >> not happy with the outfit that beyoncé wore during last sunday's super bowl halftime show. peta saying she wore a custom

reuben singer made of leather python and iguana skin. peta wants her to watch their video exposes on how that type of clothing is made and she would likely never wear something like that again if she saw that. >> bill: i think i'm okay with iguana skins. >> i had no idea it was made of all of that. could have been plastic for all i knew. >> to be fair, the comfort you get from wearing the iguana and python skins is worth it. >> math neds are excited about this one. >> bill: do they make iguana skin shoes? >> math nerds are excited -- >> bill: i didn't hear what you said. because i was talking. >> math nerds are excited about this one. mathematicians discovering the largest prime number yet. that's an integer that can only be divided evenly by hadself and one. the new number according to the folks at the great internet

prime search, 17 million digits long. in simple terms, the number is 2 multiplied by 2 more than 57 million times minus one. you may remember from math class that in 300 b.c., you could prove there are an infinite number of prime numbers so the search goes on. >> bill: of course i remember that. i saw that headline. i didn't read that article because -- woosh. >> i stared off into the middle distance during that story because you lost me. >> bill: i was so glad. >> people get excited about that kind of stuff. >> bill: some people do. i'm not one of them. so chris anders the headline this morning is that the white house which has so far refused to release the secret memo as to what guidelines they use and what evidence they demand before they would order a drone strike to kill an american citizen overseas, they so far have

refused to release the memo. they changed course. they're going to release it to -- it is a secret memo to intelligence leaders of congress why? and is this -- does this resolve the issue as far as the aclu is concerned? >> look, this is a good step. it is a good, small step in the right direction. but this is a memo. this is a memo that basically says that any president has the right to kill -- order the killing of the united states citizen even if that person is not involved and not planning an imminent attack. as long as there's a general -- they're generally involved -- there is suspicion they're generally involved in terrorism activities. and so this is a memo that has been -- we've known about it for about two years. they've been hiding it from congress. for that whole time. they've been hiding it from the american public. so all they're doing now is they're turning it over to the intelligence committee members. but that's only really the first step.

basically all americans should have the right to see a memo saying that a president has a right to kill his own citizens. >> bill: i was at the white house briefing day before yesterday when this issue first came up because this white paper which is sort of a -- an executive summary of this longer memo and this white paper which was unclassified and had been sent to members of congress last summer when it was leaked to nbc news, jay carney was asked about the rationale for these attacks and here's how he defended them. >> we have acknowledged, the united states, that sometimes we use remotely piloted aircraft to conduct targeted strikes against specific al-qaeda terrorists in order to prevent attacks on the united states and to save american lives. we conduct those strikes because they're necessary toff mitigate on-going, actual threats to stop plots, prevent future attacks and again save american lives. the these strikes are legal.

they're ethical and they're wise. >> bill: necessary legal ethical and wise. are they all of the above? >> i think really, as they're described in that memo, they're none of the above. there has been a long-standing principle that every country can defend itself in an attack. so that's a -- this is a self-defense principle. it has always been out there. that's actually what has been picked apart by this memo. so the memo basically says -- which is the law that the country can protect itself against imminent, specific attack. but then they basically said it really doesn't have to be specific. we can have a general view that someone may be involved in terrorism activities. >> bill: imminent doesn't mean an immediate threat. >> yes. they actually say that the government does not need clear evidence that someone is involved in an immediate attack. and you know, i have a fifth grade son. he knows what imminent means.

everybody knows what imminent means. imminent means it is about to happen. they're saying no, it means something else. there is general on-going suspicion about the person. and what we're talking about here is killing united states citizens without any due process, without any court review based on the say so of one person. he may be someone that you trust right now. president obama. but this is a principle that's going to outlast his administration. so even if you trust president obama and i don't think anyone should be trusted with his power, that's why we have a constitution, that's why we have laws, even if you trust them, this is a power that outlasts them. >> bill: the phrase to me that i find the most troubling is this 16-page white paper right says that this is okay to send a drone to kill an american citizen overseas when "an informed high-level official of the u.s. government has

determined." what i've been trying to find out and i tried to ask jay carney at the briefing, i did not get called on. who are we talking about here? who is this informed high-level official of the u.s. government? is it the director of the c.i.a.? is it the secretary of defense? is it the president? who is it? do you know? >> no. i think the assumption has always been it is the president. >> bill: so he himself would put a check alongside of every american that we wanted to kill saying -- go for it. >> "the new york times" and "the washington post" in reporting how this killing program operates says that the decisions are ultimately made by the president. it is his order. but what this is saying is that informed high-level official, that sounds like bureaucrats are making the decision. >> bill: could be some mid-level guy out in mclean in c.i.a. headquarters. >> that's right. that's one of the many questions that john brennan should be asking -- asked today by the senators. because this is too important. this is a serious break from the law. there is no court in the united

states. there's no court in the world that would ever except this standard for a president any president, killing his own citizens. and without any due process far from any battlefield no evidence that anyone's involved in an imminent attack. it is completely -- it is a complete break from the rule of law. >> bill: what do you say to -- and we've had a lot of our viewers and listeners here and you can join the conversation, chris anders know thises subject better than anyone, 1-866-55-press. what do you say to those who have called us to say look, may not be perfect but drones are better than putting boots on the ground. and better than putting our sons and daughters' lives at risk. >> drones are a tool. and they're a weapon just like any other weapon. and so our problem is not necessarily with the weapon. >> bill: you would not ban the use of drones? >> well, look. there may be places in battle where that makes more sense to do that than to use a fighter

plane or to use some other weapon. >> bill: or boots on the ground. >> the problem with drones right, i think is that they become very atictive. they're too easy to -- addictive. they're too easy to ruse. what the president was at one point describing is a targeted killing program. how targeted is it when the drone program has ended up with 3,000 dead people in pakistan. thousands more dead in yemen and somalia and then three dead americans. american citizens from this program. this is not remotely targeted. part of it is because it is so atictive, like playing a video game. they have these kill lists but as a former chief of staff to the obama white house said daily from chicago said there's always a number eight. that's the problem. you kill somebody, you kill number eight. there is a new number eight. the endless list of people that they're running through.

in part because the people they're running through really are presenting an imminent threat of attack. >> bill: chris anders is with the aclu based here in our nation's capital. this is a huge, huge issue and when we come back, what authorization is president obama using to justify the use of these drones? you may be surprised. we'll be back here on the "full court press". >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. real, gripping, current. documentaries... on current tv. for true stories. with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. real, gripping, current. documentaries... on current tv.

these talking points, that the right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 25 minutes after the

hour now. we're talking drones and the administration's policy for the use of drones, particularly to kill american citizens overseas with chris anders, senior legislative counsel for the aclu. a lot of comments on this, i know peter. juan really good comment when all of us progressives talk about how barack obama is using this drone program andrew points out on twitter where we're tweeting at bpshow, he says i don't worry about barack obama's administration so much as the next one or two. >> bill: chris made that point. it is the precedent that we're setting here. so what is the legislative authority -- jay carney saying these are legal. under what law is the use of these drones legal? what's the claim? >> there atwo different claims. one is that this was this law that was passed called authorization to increase the military force aimf. >> bill: passed on september

18. one week later. >> it is dealing with the people who planned and plotted the attacks on the united states to give the president bush the authority to go after them. that has morphed under presidents bush and obama into kind of this wide view that they have the right to use military far from afghanistan against people that had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks against groups that didn't even exist then and against people who were basically, you know, elementary school kids at the time. so there has been this expansive war. the other part is the self-defense theory which we agree with. the aclu agrees with. everyone would agree. every country has a right to defend themselves against a specific imminent attack but they've dumbed down standards to the point where it is meaningless. it really gives the president discretion and carter -- cart blanch to kill whoever.

>> bill: this is the same law that george bush and dick cheney used to justify rendition torture and wiretapping correct? >> yeah. it has been this kind of free pass to do whatever the president at the time wants to do. in the name of national security. and now, there's a lot of hope that when the united states pulls out of afghanistan that courts will start to say no, no, that's over. that authorization whatever it meant is over. there are no more american soldiers in combat in afghanistan. that war is over. but there is a big push, including in had this administration, to keep that whole effort going. and now it started out afghanistan, pakistan, now they're in yemen. now somalia and now the same claim seems to be made about mali. >> bill: and in fact, those who cite that law are saying

that that law gives them the authority to basically trash the constitution, doesn't it? unfair question because we don't have time to give you a chance to answer it. i am very proud of the aclu for being out in front of on this issue. >> thank you. >> bill: thanks so much for coming in. we'll talk about this again soon. when we come back, we'll talk a little climate change here on the "full court press." this is the "bill press show." going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour now on thursday, february

7. how about it. well, those regular -- those of you regular viewers and listeners here at the "full court press" know that climate change is a frequent topic here on the program because it's real and we care about it and we want to keep the pressure on and every once in awhile, we see a story popping up, yet another one about evidence of climate change. this gives us another opportunity to come back and make the case. here's the latest headline. two great lakes hit the lowest water level on record. how much more evidence do we need to get jim inhoff, right? maybe never, never never to agree that climate change is real. it is man made and we ought to be doing something about it or else. whenever we talk climate change, we like to check in with the editor in chief of climate progress over at the center for american progress. joe romm joining us on our news line this morning. hey, joe, good morning.

good to talk to you. >> hey thanks for having me. >> bill: what about this great lakes? is this just lack of rainfall due to changing weather conditions or how do you read it? >> well, it is a combination of, you know, natural variability and climate change. it has been long predicted global warming would often lead to the great lakes you know, having these record lows. in part because you see variability in precipitation. we had a very warm and dry winter. >> bill: right. >> when you have a warm and dry winter, you don't get as much snow. you don't get as much water going in. >> bill: there were these massive, historic droughts. we saw this on the news about farmer's ponds drying up and you know in the midwest but this is lake huron and lake michigan right? >> yeah, well, no question about

it. as you heat up the planet, you get more evaporation so that's one of the trends. if you have a major drought and the united states has been in a brutal drought then you're going to see lower lake levels. there's no question that scientists have explained that global warming leads to more droughts in part because it makes the weather you know, more variable. and in part because as you heat up the earth you evaporate water from the soil and it dries out. >> bill: so it's sort of -- on the one hand, on the other hand, right, so the lakes are drying up and the sea level is rising because of the melting icecaps. i saw one of the stories that you posted there on climate progress. man-made carbon pollution has already put us on track -- we're not there yet thank god has already put us on track for 69

feet of sea level rising? that means miami is underwater, right? >> people should know that will take a long time to happen. >> bill: thank god for that. >> the point of that article was if you look at the history of going back hundreds of thousands and millions of years the last time that we had carbon dioxide levels this high in the atmosphere, that's how high sea levels were. so it takes a long time for that to happen. it might take one or 2,000 years but the point is if we keep warming up the planet, it's going to happen faster. i think people are mostly concerned of sea level rise of a foot by mid century and four it six feet by the end of the century. the point is when you know is just going to keep rising and rising and rising, the question is are we going to spend money to save, you know, coastal areas, that we know ultimately

are going to be flooded no matter how much we spend. >> bill: i find it ironic after hurricane sandy, for example, they're talking about ways of protecting the jersey shore or lower manhattan and they're talking about building these great big barriers and i mean spending billions of dollars, right for these artificial kind of formations or whatever. when -- but yet doing nothing about climate change. >> i know. it's ironic because ultimately, we're going to have to do some adapting. there's no question about that. if you don't stop -- if you don't focus on reducing carbon pollution, then the impacts are going to be so large, it will be very hard to adapt to. >> bill: now, we have a new secretary of state. and one of the items that john kerry inherited from hillary clinton unresolved yet is the issue of the keystone pipeline.

we know that in the senate, john kerry has been a big champion of doing something about climate change. he's raised this issue. he's a true believer. he's been the leader of that and the united states senate hasn't been able to get legislation passed. what does this portend for him as secretary of state when the keystone pipeline comes to his desk for approval? >> well, as you say he has been one of the great champions of climate action and at the hearing, at the senate confirmation hearing, he said, you know, i would respectfully say to you that climate change is not something to be feared in response to. it is to be feared if we don't. i will be a passionate advocate on this, not based on ideology but based on facts and science. the keystone pipeline, you know, for your listeners is a pipeline that will enable a

massive expansion of one of the dirtiest pools of carbon on the planet which is the mucky star sands of canada which they want to ship over here so that we'll refine it. it is, you know, an expansion of carbon pollution that john kerry will have a lot of direct control over. i mean he's secretary of state. so he doesn't get to set, you know, a price for carbon. he doesn't get to set automobile fuel economy standards. this is a decision that he gets to make. i personally, based on trying to persuade other countries that the united states is serious about climate change and would they join us in a climate treaty. and if he were to approve this pipeline, i think it would be very hard for him to persuade anybody of that. >> bill: do you know -- we're talking with joe romm again the editor of climate progress. thinkprogress.org.

follow the click to climate progress or you can follow him on twitter at climate progress. joe, when -- or do we know when the pipeline decision is going to land on the secretary's desk? >> yeah, it seems to keep getting pushed out. we thought it would be spring. they have to -- they have to do an environmental impact statement of the new pipeline route. and then that has to go out for public comment and then they -- you know, look at the public comments and come to a final recommendation. i think it may not be until summer now. so he has some time. but as they say it will be his decision entirely. >> bill: right. now, president obama, in his inaugural address talked about climate change as one of the things that -- one of the priorities for the american -- facing the american people. he's expected to talk more about it next week in the state of the union address. what can we expect -- executive

action or legislation or combination of both? what do you hear from the white house? >> well, as you say the president made some very strong remarks. >> bill: yeah, he talked about it more than anything else in his inaugural address. >> he put it in moral terms. in economic terms. it was if we don't act on climate change we will betray our children and future generations. >> bill: mm-hmm. >> so there is a lot of expectation he will act. there is a lot of expectation the state of the union which is tuesday, that he will -- you know, elaborate more on climate change because it is a much, much longer speech and it is about what the state of the union is and what he wants to do this year. obviously the republican congress is against climate action. in fact, they're still stuck in denial of basic science. so the expectation is he's going to talk about what -- the things he can do on his own or i should say that you know, he's already gotten approval for congress --

from congress for and the most obvious choice is the clean air act. and regulation of existing power plants existing coal plants in particular which are the single biggest source of emissions and the easiest to reduce emissions in. so there's a lot of expectation that he is going to talk about you know, the need to reduce carbon pollution and the need to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants. >> bill: right. and e.p.a. can do that under existing law right? they don't need any new legislation from congress. >> right. that came out of the famous, you know, supreme court case from 2007 in which the supreme court ruled that if the e.p.a. found that climate change was a danger to public health and welfare that it had an obligation to regulate emissions. the administration has already put out rules for new power

plants but most people didn't think people -- that there were going to be a lot of new coal-fired power plants anyway in part because renewables have gotten so cheap and in part because natural gas is so cheap. so the big issue was what were you going to do with the existing power plants and that will be the big issue this year. >> bill: well, are you a prophet in your own time here, joe. we're making progress. we've got john kerry as secretary of state. that is a good step in the right direction. appreciate all of your good work. thanks for your time this morning. joe romm, editor in chief of climate progress at the center for american progress. >> thanks. >> announcer: radio meets television the "bill press show." now on current tv. they thinking? you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time

now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

(vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> bill: 13 minutes before the top of the hour. victoria jones from talk radio news will be here as a "friend of bill" in the next hour. and we'll be talking among other things we'll be talking immigration reform with congressman henry from texas. it is the "full court press" this thursday morning. february 7. coming to you live from our nation's capital. brought to you today by afscme, the largest public employee and healthcare worker's union in the entire country. the good men and women ofs of a me under -- of afscme under lee saunders. check out their web site at afscme.org. chris christie in a big fight with a former white house doctor. tell you all about that.

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incomeathome.com. that may be your answer. yes, indeed. so chris christie on david letterman the other evening. we talked about that, peter right? >> yeah, we did. >> bill: david letterman was saying we've joked around, told a lot of jokes about you regarding you and including some jokes about, you know, maybe you're a little overweight. chris christie went along with that. he said i get it. in fact, he told david letterman but my cholesterol's good. my blood sugar is good. basically, i'm very healthy. i'm the healthiest fat man you probably will ever meet. well, a former white house doctor by the name of connie mariano who was named by former president -- the first president bush and kept in the white house under bill clinton, she was in the white house from '92 -- a little before '92 up to 2001.

she was asked by cnn about chris christie's weight. and she said it doesn't look so good to me. >> i worry that he may have a heart attack. he may have a stroke. it is almost like a time bomb waiting to happen. unless he addresses those issues before he runs for office. >> she says don't get me wrong you know. i'm not some democrat who would like to -- who wants to see chris christie defeated. just the opposite. >> i'm a republican. so i like chris christie a lot. i want him to run. i want him to lose weight. i worry about this man dying in office. >> bill: whoa. worry about dying in office. now, chris christie who again kept a light approach to this when he was on david letterman. man, he didn't like what he heard from that white house doctor and he told her -- treated her sort of like he treats the public schoolteachers in new jersey. >> if she wants to get on a

plane and come here to new jersey and ask me if she wants to examine me and review my medical history i'll have a conversation with her about that. until that time, she should shut up. >> bill: just shut up. shut up. and he didn't call her the "b" word but did he call her something else. >> she must be a genius. she should probably be the surgeon general of the united states i suspect because she must be a genius. i think this is -- listen, this is another hack who wants five minutes on tv. >> bill: just a hack. >> i wouldn't call the white house physician a hack. >> bill: no. i wouldn't call a fellow republican who is saying i have serious concerns about your weight, a hack. and he was also upset because he said so his 12-year-old son came to him and said daddy are you really going to die? of course we're all going to die some day. but if the son is concerned about his father maybe being overweight, that's kind of a good thing. you know. don't you think that might --

chris christie -- would say if my kids are concerned about this, maybe i really ought to do something about it. >> if the people around you are telling you and doctors are telling you that you might not be healthy and they're worried about you take that as a good sign. that they care about you and they would like you to get healthy. >> bill: the question is, really, is this a legitimate issue to be talking about? well, i would have to say yes for two reasons. number one because chris christie talks about it. if he talks about it, it's okay for us to talk about it. and number two because i like him, too. and i think he has a serious weight problem. i would love to see him run for president. i want to see him stay in public life. i'm concerned about his health, too. >> that's one of the comments we got on facebook. we have this question about facebook facebook.com/billpressshow, b.j. says his weight should be an issue. he's one of the few republicans

i semi respect. we need a few more like him to buck the tea baggers and extremists in congress. so yeah, your health matters. >> bill: i've got the answer, right? >> hit me. >> bill: i lost about 20 -- about 25 pounds. stop drinking, chris christie. that's the answer. stop drinking. give up alcohol. [ laughter ] >> announcer: on your radio, and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." [ voice of dennis ] the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have... [ voice of dennis ] allstate. [ normal voice ] same agent and everything. it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no, we're not. ♪ ♪ ask an allstate agent about the value plan. are you in good hands?

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>> bill: congressman henry joining us in the next hour together with victoria jones from talk radio news as a "friend of bill." president obama went up to annapolis to speak to the senate -- members of the senate. democratic members of the senate on their retreat. today, he goes down to lansdowne, virginia -- or leesburg, virginia, to meet with house democrats -- house democrats who are having their little policy retreat. speaking to them, leaving the white house at 11:15 this morning. and then democrats will be back at the white house at about 2:20 this afternoon. and most importantly, i guess the president kicks off the day just about five minutes from now. he and the vice president, joe biden, the first lady, will be

attending the national prayer breakfast at the washington hilton hotel and the president delivering remarks there. separation of church and state. it doesn't exist today. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, good morning everybody. good to see you today and welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. this thursday morning february 7. where we tackle the big stories of the day whether it is happening here in our nation's capital, around the country or around the globe and give you a

chance to sound off by calling us at our toll free number, 1-866-55-press. and oh boy. expect pigs to fly and cats to talk when you hear this. fox news finally got something right. they fired dick morris! why? because he got everything wrong! predicting that mitt romney would win by a landslide. that scott brown would win by a landslide and predicting republicans would pick up ten seats in the senate last november. when, in fact, democrats picked up five. so they fired dick morris. the big question is why do they still have karl rove on the payroll? that and a whole lot more coming up. but first, we get the latest. today's current news update from lisa ferguson joining us from our studios in los angeles. hi, lisa, good morning. >> hey bill. good morning everyone. a bipartisan group of senators is announcing new legislation today aimed at strengthening the nation's mental health services. they're holding a news conference at 1:00 this afternoon and will be joined by

silver linings playbook director david russell along with mental health advocates law enforcement officials and people living with behavioral disorders. among the bill's sponsors include marco rubio barbara boxer, susan collins and patrick leahy. in the wake of the sandy hook shooting, senators say it is important now more than ever to make mental healthcare a national priority. the bill will expand access to mental health treatment and improve the quality of care at community health centers. president obama today is addressing the nation's latest drone concerns. he is handing over a document to the senate intelligence committee trying to justify his policy on using drones to target americans overseas. this announcement comes in the wake of a justice department memo leaked this week to nbc. the paper allows for deadly force against anyone continually plotting attacks against the united states. but if does not give much legal justification for using drones to kill american citizens. today, obama will turn over the

legal opinion saying he wants to create healthy scrutiny and debate. more bill press is coming up live after the break and we are live in our chat room. we hope you'll join us there at current.com/billpress. we'll see you on the other side of the break. i want the people who watch our show, to be able to come away armed with the facts, and the arguments to feel confident in their positions. i want them to have the data and i want them to have the passion. but it's also about telling them, you're put on this planet for something more. i want this show to have an impact beyond just informing. an impact that gets people to take action themselves. as a human being, that's really important. this is not just a spectator sport.

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>> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: john brennan facing the music today. you know it's going to be a rock n' roll hearing. a lot of questions about drones. he's the architect of our drone policy. they thought this was going to be a slam dunk confirmation. no way. good morning everybody.

it is the "full court press" here on a beautiful thursday morning. february 7. great to see you today. thank you for joining us. we'll tell you what's going on in the world today and here in our nation's capital and of course give you a chance to sound off. that's what it's all about. we want to hear your comments. what do these issues mean to you and your family. give us a call the old-fashioned way at 1-866-55-press. old-fashioned way i guess is to send a letter. it would an few days before your letter gets here. give us a call at 1-866-55-press. or join us on twitter at bpshow. on facebook at facebook.com/billpressshow. with so many issues, we couldn't handle it all ourselves. we needed help this morning. we have in as a "friend of bill" for this hour, from talk radio news joining me at the white house and the white house briefing room, victoria jones. nice to see you again. >> good morning. i'm just -- as we speak going to tweet to my tweets that i'm on.

i realized i hadn't tweeted to them this morning. >> you've got the ipad mini. >> i've got the mini. >> you're the first one i've seen. >> isn't it cute? >> it is adorable. >> it is like a little toy. oh, look there is a tweet saying look, victoria jones d.c. that's so nice. >> bill: it is too small for me. >> it is for a grown man. >> look, we're all men. >> i ordered a key pad for it. it arrived yesterday. it is so dinky. i haven't attached it yet because you've gotta have a cord and do clever things which i can't face until the weekend but it's going to make a huge difference because the pad on the thing is fine. but it's just going to be wonderful. >> bill: i have a key pad but mine is battery run and bluetooth or something. >> look at these fingers. look at these hands.

these are like bratwurst sausages. i don't type well on mini things. >> bill: the team here is also with us of course this morning. peter ot burning and dan henning. dan. phil backert has the phones. cyprian bowlding has the webcam or the video cam or the cameras what the heck. we have a new secretary of state sworn in yesterday afternoon. i was with some friends at lunch who were heading off for that swearing in ceremony. i was not invited. but john kerry i think is off to a very good start. he was certainly in good form yesterday. >> i want to share with all of you that as a recovering politician -- [ laughter ] i've grown used to being sworn at. it is nice to be sworn in. >> bill: a nice line. like he said, you know, the big question the other day was whether or not a man could run the state department. it has been a long time. >> well, yes. >> bill: since there has been a white man running the state

department. >> exactly. was it high heels to fill. it's true. >> bill: absolutely. hillary did a magnificent job as secretary of state. we've got a lot to cover. we'll be talking immigration reform with congressman henry from texas. we'll get right to the news of the day but first, dan with a big headline. >> a new low for fox news. fewer people than ever say they trust the network. politico reporting a new public policy polling survey finds that 46% of americans do not trust fox news. just 41% say they trust the network. three years ago 49% of people said they trusted the network. just 37% said they did not. >> bill: people are finally catching up. and according to the survey, these are mainly republicans who have learned not to trust fox

news maybe because they were so misled last year into thinking obama was a one-termer. >> it was an alternate reality. every single show was showing -- poll was showing mitt romney was behind. on the night of the election, it was fascinating watching that bizarre situation of karl rove calling ohio and then actually having fox news anchors who are normally in the tank, walking down the corridor, going to the pollsters who were holding out like the last bastian of sanity saying no, it's true. it's true, it's true. >> bill: why would you trust a network after that? >> i think it is the worst offender. with so many people who got it so wrong. >> bill: karl rove. ifthey fired dick morris. this have fired karl rove, too. >> scott bennett is on to a career in television. the massachusetts republican is in talks with fox news.

to become a contributor. they, of course, have an opening now that dick morris is no longer with them. >> bill: fill dick morris' shoes, if i were scott brown i wouldn't take that job. >> i wouldn't put on dick morris' shoes. not knowing where his toes have been. >> oh! there is a lady in the house. >> mixing your liquor with diet soda is a good way to cut down on calories when drinking alcohol but you'll get drunker according to a new study. researchers at northern kentucky university telling "time" magazine that when drinking the same amount of alcohol, test subjects consuming lick her a higher breath alcohol content than those who drank booze with regular soda. the alcohol content was about 18% higher on average. >> wow that's significant. >> bill: it is b.s. let me tell you, it is total b.s. yes. if i don't have a martini my drink of choice is a rum and a

cuba libre. rum. i always have with diet coke because i'm dieting. rum and diet coke. >> so '70s, man. >> bill: i know it is. >> i worked for the moody blues. >> you worked for the moody blues? >> bill: i think this is '50s, rum and diet coke. i didn't start it until i started dieting. i don't get drunker on it. i only have one. >> maybe you're too drunk to know. >> is there any taste in rum? >> rum? absolutely. >> really? >> there's different kinds of rum. malibu pineapple rum. >> mine apple rum. >> flavored rum. >> bill: we'll do a rum tasting here some day. we do booze segments every once in awhile. usually on a friday and then we roll into the weekend. all right. here's what i want to know. let's get to the serious news of the day. why are you here and why are you not at the prayer breakfast?

>> you know, i would go. i actually do have a spiritual life but actually, i was not invited. as i'm not to so many events these days. deeply disappointed. maybe i'm not -- >> bill: do you think it is appropriate for the president and members of congress to show off their religion one day a year? >> i think it's very odd. i think that there is a little too much overt religiosity going on. and then it suddenly put back in the pocket and then -- >> bill: no, i agree. i grew up under the creed that you did not wear your religion on your sleeve. and you know, you had it. it was real. it was genuine but you didn't brag about it. the problem i have with the prayer breakfast is everybody gets up and tries to outdo each other and how my faith is so strong and i pray all the time and i'm so close to jesus.

come on. >> right. exactly. >> bill: it is not something to brag about. i don't think it's real if you brag about it. >> are you allowed to be diverse at the prayer breakfast? >> bill: no. no. it is one way. something else, sort of kind of related. we talked earlier in the week, victoria, about the fact that we've struggled with same-sex marriage in this country for so long, the president came around on it last year after evolving, he said. he did evolve. in the right direction. and took him a long time. but still he says it should be left up to state by state and they should decide. no national action to recognize it. the u.k., this week, in a very colorful debate as always, in the house of commons, what was the vote? i think 400 to 175. overwhelming. >> overwhelming. >> does that surprise you? >> david cameron -- no because

it is a different sensibility. they are there. it is a more tolerant society. it is not a religious -- it is a much more secular society. >> bill: he's a conservative leader. yet he has to fight for this. >> he's a conservative leader who supports, for example a national health service. one of the reasons it is a more secular society is because they have a state religion. it's an oxymoron but because they have a state religion, it is like we've got a state religion. keep religion out of things. >> bill: hmm. right. >> there isn't this push for religion. it is just sort of there. >> bill: the sentiment it seems, the public sentiment what i appreciate about it was they were saying this is not going to be town by town or county by county. you know or whatever. no. as an entire nation, we're going to embrace this.

and this entire nation will probably never embrace -- >> the other thing was there was no -- very little sense that by having gay marriage, there was very little talk of this gay marriage is going to mean that somebody's coming into your house and impacting your marriage. >> bill: which is the ridiculous claim that people make here. >> how is it going to impact your marriage with somebody coming into your living room and suddenly taking away your husband or interfering? >> bill: again churches can do whatever they want. we're talking about civil institution of marriage to say that some citizens cannot -- you know, take advantage of that opportunity. just because they happen to be gay or straight. i think it is insane. there's no logical or constitutional argument against it. >> it is very peculiar. >> the other two big issues we've been talking about this morning, i would like to get your take on.

saturday no more post office delivery. of letters. packages yes. >> but no netflix right? a lot of people use netflix. a lot of people use netflix. it is very big. >> bill: the post office is saying they lost $16 billion last year. >> stupid prefunding healthcare. >> bill: exactly. we're required by congress to prefund their healthcare 75 years out which costs them $5.5 billion a year. no other government agency has the same restriction. then congress turns around and says duh you're losing money. duh, no wonder. >> so duh do something about it. which they haven't. the senate did. whether you agree with it or not, gets to the house. they won't -- boehner and cantor won't put it on the floor because they don't want to put their congressmen in a position of having to take difficult votes. >> bill: given that, dan, if we can get that john boehner. here's what boehner -- the

reality which you are right on, here's what bain her the audacity to say yesterday about this. >> i understand where the postal commission is coming from. they're in charge with running the post office. but yet the congress, in its wisdom has tied their hands every which way in order for them to actually run the post office in a revenue-neutral way. so congress needs to act. there's no question about that. and i hope that we'll act soon. >> bill: isn't that outrageous? he's the freaking speaker of the house of representatives. and he's complaining congress hasn't acted. it hasn't acted because he has not called for a vote. >> hello! it is astonishing. it is because he doesn't want to put some of his own rural lawmakers on the spot, voting against their own post offices. >> bill: all right now quick comment before we take a break we'll talk more about it on the

other side. about drones. a lot of heat on the white house saying you've got to release the papers to us on the hill, the congress, so at least we know what guidelines you're following when you send a drone out to kill an american citizen overseas, the obama administration said no, we don't. we're not going to release them until last night. they said we changed our mind. we're going to release them. >> we changed our mind. >> bill: does this put this issue to rest? >> to some extent it puts it to rest, yeah i think so. because this is going out to the intelligence committees. it makes a huge difference, frankly. not all questions are going to be answered because there's going to be stuff in there. the committees say this is not legal. i think ron wyden, the senator from oregon who will ask tough questions of john brennan today who wants to be head of the c.i.a., very tough questions on this and on waterboarding and on leaks is not going to be

satisfied with this memo. i'm quite sure. but it is going to put some of it to rest. they're trying to get ahead of this but they can't. the fact of the matter is i think -- the same way that obama caught the fly and killed it and obama killed the pirates i think he killed americans. >> bill: well, they're claiming they have the justification -- >> that's it. >> bill: under the use of force memo passed in 2001 to do so. more about the drones, previous, what else -- the post office, the u.k., same-sex marriage, we're across the board this morning on any issue you want to talk about. 1-866-55-press. victoria jones talk radio news. we'll be right back. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv.

that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

>> bill: victoria jones joining us. henry cuellar joins us in the next segment. do you want to clarify a remark? i don't think that's happened on this show before. >> i was talking about obama killing the fly. that was before he got the fly on his forehead. that he didn't kill. >> bill: he killed one in an earlier interview. >> he can show mercy too. the renaissance man. no, i was talking about obama killing americans.

americans who were alleged members of al-qaeda. don't just go around killing americans like you and i standing on the street. these are americans who are alleged members of al-qaeda overseas. >> bill: the question that members of congress have been asking is what guidelines do we use to make those decisions? what evidence do we require to make sure that we are making -- that these people really are guilty because there's no trial. the there's no judge there's no jury. >> definitely no judge. >> bill: then the final question is who, who is making this decision? and we really don't know, do we? >> no. we don't. we're pretty sure it is obama. the other piece that's really not been talked about this week which i find a little chilling is that in addition to al-awlaki, okay, he was apparently a bad guy director of external operations which you know, a title. they got his son who was 16. in most countries that's considered a sort of war

crimish. he's a juvenile. he's a child. >> there are a lot of people that i talk to and that we hear from that say you have personally, a certain threshold of what's acceptable and not acceptable. and the fact that this country is killing innocent children with drones, like it or not they're collateral damage or whatever you want to call them, killing children, that's the threshold. that's too much. that's too far. that's when you gotta stop supporting -- you know, what we're doing. >> he wasn't collateral damage. he was targeted. the 16-year-old was targeted. >> bill: assuming he was part of his father's operation but again, you know, he may have been. i think all of us are more comfortable when we follow the constitution and the due process actually is provided, you know and people have an opportunity. they know what they're charged with and they have a chance to defend themselves and we know what they're charged with and we see the evidence then we know we've got goods on them. with these cases, we're trusting

the judgment based on secret evidence of somebody, somebody in the united states government. victoria, let's talk immigration reform with henry cuellar coming up next. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

>> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress. this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: hey here we go at 33 minutes after the hour, thursday february 7. it is the "full court press." we are coming to you live from our nation's capital brought to you today by the communication workers of america. the good men and women of the communication worker's union

under president larry cohen. the union for the information age. you bet. find out more about their good work at cwa-union.org. president obama making a big case of it in his inaugural address. immigration reform. since then, we've seen a bipartisan group of senators -- republicans and democrats in the senate. and republicans and democrats in the house as well. come up with their ideas for immigration reform. it looks like the planets may finally be in line to do something about comprehensive immigration reform. is that the case? here's a man who's been out there in front on this issue for many years. henry cuellar congressman from the great state of texas. thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank you. good morning to you bill. thank you so much. >> bill: victoria jones is here also from talk radio news. congressman, are you optimistic that we're going to see comprehensive immigration reform this year? and what do you think are the

necessary ingredients? >> yes i do. bottom line is this. democrats want immigration reform. republicans need immigration reform. so i think it is starting to happen. it has to have three parts. first, smart border security. two, gotta have a guest worker program that works. and three, you gotta have a pathway to citizenship. otherwise you're going to have second rate citizens in the shadows. >> bill: i love the way you put it, democrats want it. republicans need it. >> so true. >> bill: so true. whichever way they're coming, it looks like both parties getting together on it. border security, congressman seems to me gets lost in here is that we've done a better job at border security. haven't we? in the last few years? >> without a doubt. if you look at the number of border patrols, we have the largest amount of border patrols

in history in the southwest border. we have about 18,500. if you look at the crossings we're at a 40-year low of crossing. if you look at the pew report, you will see that there's actually more than coming over here. and a couple years ago, the democrats, we added $600 million of border security, the largest amount -- infusion of border security in our history. we've got a lot. i'm just a few miles away from the u.s./mexico border right now. >> bill: on the issue of guest workers, you know, there is some concern that these people are coming here and taking jobs away from americans. how do you respond to that? >> well, first of all certainly americans should get the jobs, number one. number two, i would tell you my father was a migrant worker. he worked in the fields. hot sun. working very hard. i represent you know, san antonio, laredo but i represent a lot of rural areas.

some of the farmers have advertised $14 an hour to work and they can't get anybody because it is hard work. my father and mother did that for many years. the jobs that americans still want to take, that's what we're look at doing. >> bill: yeah. i must say coming from california, i never saw lines of native -- american citizens lined up to pick the strawberries hunched over all day in the fields around monterey california, for example. so i know you're right on about that. so do you think this will -- this will happen this year with all of these elements and what about the -- again, on the path to citizenship, it is not automatic, is it that we're talking about? >> no. well, we gotta look at the final piece of legislation. what's happening is that you

know, these people are talking that they want to do it. nobody is saying they want to block it. at the end of the day, you'll have some democrats who will vote no and some republicans who will vote yes. it will be a bipartisan way to get it done. but i feel very good about it. there's movement. just recently, even the far right came out that came out in support of this. so i think there's groups that are coming out that -- the u.s. chamber and other folks that will give some of the republicans "cover" so they can support it. i got the strong impression in the house hearing earlier this week that republicans were looking for something short of citizenship that they were looking for green cards or permanent status for undocumented immigrants but they just weren't willing to go

there. do you think that's as far as they're willing to go and if that's the case, do you think they would be willing to bend if they were to come in for sufficient pressure from the chamber of commerce? and other groups? >> well and you're absolutely right about that, victoria. what's happening is the republicans -- at least some of the ones i've talked to, some have now moved from nothing at all to just doing the dream act. the dream act is only part of it. some of them are saying well, what if we don't make them citizens and give them documentation and do that. i think one of the proposals came out and said we're not going to have the pathway for some commission besides that the border is secure. i can name you two governors without giving their names that would say that the border's never secure. so if we're going to go further and further away, i think we need to just look at the three

parts, border security, plan that works sufficient that is fair to workers here and the third thing is you have to set some sort of concrete way to reach the citizenship. otherwise, we'll be back to square one and the last thing we had was in 1986. i always tell republicans hey listen, we need to have a pathway. not amnesty the way president reagan did in 1986 but a pathway where they can earn it. look, my father was born in mexico. he became a legal resident. he then became a naturalized citizen. he followed the process. but you can't make it so difficult they give up and say i'm not going to come over here and i'm going to cross the desert or the river in texas and just do it this way and pay some coyote some money and risk my life because the system doesn't work. it has to be efficient.

it's got to be fair. it's got to be something that works for everybody. >> bill: i want to come back to where you started congressman. republicans need this. it seems to me that there's some belief on the part of republicans that all they need to do is vote for immigration reform and latinos are just going to flock to the republican party and elect republicans all over the place because this is going to prove that they are there in support of the latino community. is it going to be that easy? >> no way. if you look at it, let's go back to the election date. last november election date. if you recall right be before that republicans weren't talking about self-deportation. they were talking about amnesty talking about all of these things. then the election hits them. obama wins 71%. democrats pretty much win 68% of the vote. it was a strong showing that -- especially with the fast-growing hispanic population that we've

had, they're saying oh, we've got to do something because we've got a problem. so you know, less than a week later, some of them were saying we need to have immigration reform. we need to do this. you don't change ideology or a philosophy from one day to another day after the election. basically, what happens cold reality hit them in the face. they do have a problem. but it is not going to say one vote is going to change how hispanics feel about republicans. no way. >> can we talk about senator marco rubio the republican senator and his impact politically on the immigration debate? he's going to be giving the republican response to the president's state of the union address. and he is going to talk about immigration and its role in the american dream and things like that. do you think that he can have an impact politically in this regard? >> well, he certainly can have a

conversation and help us convince some of the republicans if he continues taking that position that we need to have immigration reform because a lot of republicans will see him as the republican that can talk about immigration. so how far he goes on immigration reform will certainly carry a lot of weight with other republicans. we were talking about immigration reform last year and he was talking about senator rubio was talking about the dream act. the president was talking about the dream act. the republicans, the house republicans, they were not saying okay, this is what -- we ought to listen to what president obama said. let's see what -- >> bill: senator. >> whoa. >> they don't want to listen to obama. it was very, very, very interesting what they were saying. because obama -- i would say rubio will set the goalpost as to how far they can go. >> bill: congressman, i know

you have to go. i want to let you go but as a member of the house appropriations committee yesterday we learned that we're actually making progress in getting the budget deficit to shrink below a trillion dollars. which you have saluted as good news. >> you know, a lot of people forget what president bill clinton did. if we would have just continued what he did back when he left office, we would have been -- we had a surplus. we wouldn't be in this situation. but bottom line is the deficit is i believe it is the lowest in some time in 2008. we ought to be celebrating we're actually moving the target down. it is moving down instead of going up. but nobody has picked up. i'm glad she picked that up. bill and victoria, thank you for telling the listeners that president obama and all of us working together, we're actually bringing down the deficit. >> bill: the deficit's going down and the market the dow is going up. so there is some good economic

news that you never hear about except here on the "full court press." congressman henry cuellar great to have you with us this morning. >> thank you, bill and victoria. >> bill: we'll be back to continue our conversation with victoria jones and you on the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." (vo) this afternoon, current tv is the place for compelling true stories. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current.

these talking points, that the right have, about the "heavy

hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. really? you know i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: 12 minutes to go before the top of the hour. here we go, victoria jones is in studio as a "friend of bill," fob. for this hour. and today february 7 i gotta

say sad day for me because this is the last day for jennifer granholm to host "the war room" on current tv. i think she is -- she is a good friend. i think she's great and for her first job in television, she's really a kick ass good. >> amazing transition from governor to tv host. >> bill: absolutely. i hope it is not her last. i have a suspicion it will not be her last tv job. >> quick story to get in, bill because we're still, most of us that work on the show were rooting for the baltimore ravens. we have another reason to be happy they won. their linebacker, brendan acken baday hoe -- ayanbadejo published an op-ed yesterday saying that we are, as he puts it, just moments from before history is made as we await the arrival of the first openly gay man in major u.s. team sports. he said he would welcome it. we need a jacki robinson type

figure to come on and to be an openly gay professional sports player. >> bill: but he's not naming someone. >> he's not naming someone. he is not -- >> he's not outing. >> he's not a gay man himself. he says we need, as a culture professional sports, as a collectively, need to welcome that person, whoever it is, when that person shows up because we're -- >> bill: that's a lot better attitude than that jerk from the 49ers last week. >> that's pretty big stuff. brave. >> as he says in his op-ed in "usa today," this is our time and our cause. it is a gesture, it is a pledge. it is solidarity at its most basic. our jacki is coming. we need to pave the way referring to jackie robinson who broke the color-barrier in baseball. >> bill: i think it may be ray lewis but i may be wrong. >> whoa. >> bill: victoria, let's say hello to ben calling from wendell, massachusetts.

>> caller: thank you for having me on. >> bill: glad you're there. what's your point this morning? >> i wanted to talk about the drone strikes. it really seems to me that it feels very much like a slippery slope. i feel that as they're justifying the death of americans outside of the u.s., i wonder how long it is before they're justifying the death of americans inside of the u.s. then to go with that, i wonder how long it will be before the reasons for these deaths become less and less severe or they're justifying it. it is something that certainly makes me take a moment. >> bill: hold on, ben. don't go away. i want to come back to you. victoria, i think he makes a good point. >> this i think is what ultimately, even if it's not spoken by people, the back of their mind is what creeps people out. even if they don't entirely realize that's what creeps them out. could this happen here? is the syndrome. >> bill: one of the conditions, of course, they say that has to be met is it would

be not feasible to capture them. therefore we kill them. so some are saying well then that condition would never apply in the united states. i could see how people could bend it, right? >> bend it. you still could say it is not possible -- you could say it wasn't possible to capture the guy in the underground bunker with the 5-year-old boy. >> bill: of course. ben, excellent questions. for getting up early for us this mornings and being such a good citizen, we've got something special for you and that is a $50 gift certificate for pro-flowers that you can use for this valentine's day. we'll get that out to you ben. hang on there. our ben will get your information on where to send that. and by the way if you are looking for something special for valentine's day proflowers, can't do better than that. go to proflowers.com. click on the microphone in the upper right-hand corner. type in press and then you'll -- that's the gateway to great valentine's day gift.

proflowers.com, type in press. dick morris. gotta ask -- dick morris fired by fox news. why did they keep him for 15 years and why do they still have karl rove on the payroll? >> they have karl on the payroll because he's a big name and i think they're afraid to fire him. maybe there is a big money connection there. >> bill: hmm. >> that's a possibility. some kind of thing that they -- some connection. just strikes me as a possibility. dick morris, who knows. it is like gambling. you keep thinking the horse is going to win. you've got one of those three-legged horses and you just keep thinking that nag is going to come in. you just keep hoping and putting your money down. in new jersey. it just never happens. >> bill: right. i think roger ailes was waiting for is a years for dick morris to be right about something. he was wrong about everything!

>> he can go and sniff feet somewhere else. >> bill: dumbest and most amoral and most dishonest man in american politics, dick morris. what fun to have you here in studio. thank you, victoria. >> thank you. >> bill: talk radio news. follow her on twitter at victoriajonesdc. how's that for a handle. i'll be right back with a parting shot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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>> bill: nobody brought more disgrace to a network other than dick morris. i'm talking about the fact that he was wrong about everything. last year alone dick morris flat out predicted mitt romney was going to win by a landslide. that scott brown was going to win by a landslide. that republicans were going to pick up ten seats in november 2012. again, he was wrong about everything